Kuaizhou 11 Family rocket variant.
Performance data not available.
CAS Space’s planned solid launcher would be China’s largest solid rocket by payload capacity, exceeding CASC’s Long March 11 and the Kuaizhou-11 operated under CASIC.
Expace plans to develop larger solid-fueled launchers including the Kuaizhou-11 and Kuaizhou-21 launch vehicles.
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, through its subsidiary Expace, will provide the Kuaizhou-11 at a rate of $5,000 per kilogram to LEO, which the AFRL-DIU report characterizes as five times less expensive than comparable launch capabilities.
Expace, a CASIC subsidiary, will provide the Kuaizhou-11 at $5,000 per kilogram to low Earth orbit.
Kuaizhou-11 is a larger launcher with a baseline capability of 1,000 kg to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit and could launch before the end of 2019.
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation plans a first launch of the larger, delayed Kuaizhou-11 launcher in 2020.
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation launched four times in 2020, including the failed debut launch of the Kuaizhou-11 and the loss of a Kuaizhou-1A rocket in September 2020.
Kuaizhou-1A and Kuaizhou-11 rockets developed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) and its affiliates remain grounded after failures in 2021 and 2020 respectively.
CASIC’s launcher operator arm Expace plans a total of 8 to 10 launches of Kuaizhou-1A and Kuaizhou-11 rockets in 2023.
Expace operates Kuaizhou solid rockets for state-owned CASIC and planned seven launches of Kuaizhou-1A and Kuaizhou-11 rockets in 2023.
Expace and CASIC have launched 24 Kuaizhou-1A rockets and 11 Kuaizhou-11 rockets since 2017, suffering three failures.
Expace operates the larger Kuaizhou-11 solid rocket with a 2.65-meter-diameter fairing and designed to launch up to 1,500 kg to low Earth orbit.